Process for solidifying earth



March 30, 1937. 1 VAN HULST 2,075,244

PROCESS FOR SOLIDIFYING EARTH Filed June '7, 1935 INVENTOR div/v l/A/v HULST.

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ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 3o, '1937 UNITED STATES PATENT-'orifice l v 2,075,244 -Pnoonss Fon soLmr'FYmG Elmira Jan van Hulst, Amsterdam, Netherlands, assigner to The Patents and Licensing Corporatiom Boston, Mass., acorporation of Massachusetts Application June 7, 1935, Serial No. 25,379

In the Netherlands June 14, 1934 This invention relates to the treatment of p od rous or pervious soils or coil layers, such as sand soils or other lmobile ,or loose ground Iformav tions, and is more specifically' concernedwith a V method whereby suchv soils are rendered impervious or substantially impervious to water or gases.

This invention has many practical applications,

such, for example, as in building canals, sluices 1o or dykes in porous soil, where it is desirable to stop the percolation of Water through-the sand, or in constructing bridge pillars, landing piers, tunnels,v etc., in ground formations which are not suiilciently rm or impervious. Likewise,

4 15 in oil well drilling practice, it often happens that a well passesv through such excessively porousl strata that the drilling mud cannot form an impervious mud sheath on the walls of the borehole, but penetrates into the porous formation with l 20 the result that'a loss of circulation is experienced.

desired place and/or depthJayv suitably controlling ythe stability of the dispersion.4 'I'his may be efl fected either -by adding to the dispersion coagulation-promoting agents such as electrolytes or "other gents'disclosed in my above-mentioned application, or applying such agents. to the soil before,v during or after the introduction of the diS- 40 persion,'in order to produce a proper coagulation of the latter at the required place.4 On the other hand, if electrolytes which may affect ,the rate of the coagulation are' already present in the soil, itc may be necessary or advantageous to reduce their concentration in the soil, by a preliminary application of pure Water or of a solution of coagulation-hindering agets, such' as alkaline solutions. Y, I

I have also found that especially good results tmay be obtained by carrying out this process with amiiture of an vaqueous bitumen dispersion with a finely divided colloidal substance which can be either of organic or inorganic'origin. For 'example, it is possible to use clays such as bentonite, refractory blue clay, .pottersV clay, fullers ing treated even possible with coagulated bitumen alone.

ing the same amount with water to onlya 8%, 4bitumen content and earth, waterglass, silicio acid gel,l diatomaeeous earth, Cassel earth and other substancesI contain- 'ing humic acids, gelatine, glue, etc.-

Although the substances mentioned abov e,'and

especially clay, possess emulsifyng properties of' their own, the bitumen dispersions formed with their aid are of a relatively coarse character, and 4 may not be very well suited for ,the purposes of this invention, since they do not penetrate readily into porous soils. It is therefore preferable to add clay, a clay suspension, or any other sub v stance with colloidal properties to a. relatively finely divided bitumen dispersion formed with the aid of known lemulsiflers, such, for example, as those of the' soap type. `The' clay in this case does not actas an emulsifler, `nor does it exert? a occulating or coagulating actionl on the bitumen dispersion,4 but is present therein in intimate contact' with the bitumen particles. Because of the presence of the colloidal substance in the interface between the bitumen and the water of ythe dispersion, larger complexes consisting'of the bitumen and of the material added are formed. and tend to lill' the voids in the porous ground be' more thoroughlyrthan would be this way, bitumen dispesions of' considerably lower 'concentration may be used. and the amount of bitumen required to render a given soil forma- V tion impervious to watery or gases is substantially .,decreased. For example, in. a case where a cer- -tain amount of a. dispersion diluted with water to a 30% bitumen content was considered necessary, equally favorable results were obtained by applyof the dispersion diluted.

containing in clay.

However, in treating Jporous soils either with a bitumen dispersion, or with a. bitumen dispersion addition 2%. of a vgood colloidal ,containing a colloidal substance, difculties are sometimes experienced in introducing the im Vpregnating agents into the porous soil in such a manner as to obtain at the desired place, a` water--J impervious-layer of suitable sizeand shape.

, I have now found that this diiilculty may be eliminated, and the treating agent may be readily and uniformly introduced into the ground by rst placing' in or near the porous layer a quantit/y of coarse material, such as gravel, gravel stones, stone chippings, or any other rock ,aggregate, and causing the bituminous dispersion to penetrate the porous soil through this coarse r material.

In the simplest case, such as when it is de' locontact with the rock aggregate, without appreciably penetrating into the soil. According to' this invention, bitumen emulsions of lconsiijlerable stability are used, so that no break occurs on contact with the rocky mass. The emulsion passes throughthe rocky mass and breaks only after penetrating the porous layer to a considerable distance. This distance may be regulated by suitably controlling the stability of the emulsion, or by treating the soil with the coagulation-promoting or coagulation-hindering agents mentioned above.

' In treating a porous layer located at a certain depth, a shaft or bore-hole may be drilled to and through said layer and illed with a mass of rock aggregate, a bituminous emulsion being subsequently applied to the porous layer through the rocky mass, if desired, under pressure. Owing to the large volume of space occupied by the rock aggregate, a relatively small quantity of a bitumen 3o emulsion is suiiicient to` iill the borehole. The

emulsion is thus in contact with the walls of the borehole and penetrates the porous layer not only at or near the bottom of the borehole, but

throughout its entire depth, which makes pos- .v

sible a uniform impregnation ofv a layer of any desired thickness. As stated above, the stability of .the emulsion prevents its coagulation before it has penetrated the porous layer to a considerable distance. The porous layer may, if desired,

be subjected to a preliminary treatment with coagulation promoting or coagulation-hindering agents. l` A\ preferred method of applying this invention in practice is illustrated in the figure of the drawing and consists in placing a casing or a pipe I0 of suitable diameter in a borehole drilled to and through the porous layer II, and filling said cas- V ing with a 'coarse material I2 of desired particle size. The ycasing may'or may not-reach the bottom of the borehole, or may, after-being illed with rock aggregate, be partially pulled out, preferably not beyond the upper level off the layer to be treated. 'I'he impregnating agent is then fed through the pipe I0 and thence through the coarse material I2 into the soil layer Il asde scribed above, the. casing serving as a shield against the penetration ofthe emulsion into the strata I3 overlaying the porous layer and which it is not desired to impregnate. To insure thatno foreign material besides the selected rock aggregate will be present in the casing or pipe, the latter may sometimes be provided with a loose preflerably tapering stopper at its lower end. At a desired-moment, for example, when raising the pipe, pressure may be applied to the rocky material I2 lling the pipe, per and the rocky material `into the borehole. In other cases, it may into the soil a pipe open at the bottom end, subselquently removing the earth therefrom, and lling it with the coarse material I2, after which the treatment proceeds as described above.

Only relatively inely-divided 'and stable im.

pregnating agents, such as bitumen dispersions or u bitumen dispersions containing a Iubthereby ejecting the stopt be likewise possible toforce stance, may be successfully used for the purposes are commonly used in combination with rocky materials, such for example, as thin cement morto 120 C., and is then dispersed inwater heated to about 40 C., to which 0.5% sodium hydroxide and 1.5% woodtar had been added. The bitumen content of the dispersion should be approximately 50%. A very nne dispersion may be obtained by using a I.suitable device, such as a co1- loidal mill, whereupon a stabilizer, such for example as 0.5% of casein, calculated on the weight of the bitumen, may be added.

noi' this invention. Other binding agents which 'Ihe bitumen dispersion is then mixed with half its amount of a suspension of colloidal clay, such as bentonite, comprising approximately 1 part of bentonite to 9 parts of Water by weight. Before being applied for the purposes of this invention, this mixture is further diluted with about twice its amount of water, 2% oi' methyl formiate being added at the same time. if desired.

If it is desired to treat a layer extending overl a considerabledistance, a number of shafts or boreholes may be drilled in the ground, illed with rock aggregate and `cased by means of suitable pipes, `whereupon the above Ldispersion'may be applied to the porous layer underlying the upper soil layer in the mannerj described, ii desired, under pressure. Depending on the porosity of the soil, the'boreholes are suitably spaced, for example, they maybe located ata distance of 10 .feet from each other. and the amount of the liquid 'dispersion used is calculated so asto give an uninterrupted impregnated layer after all the dispersion has penetrated into the soil and'coagulated therein. I

I claim as my invention:

1. In the process of making a porous soil layer impervious to fluids, thel steps of placing a mass of relatively coarsely divided material in contact with said layer, and causing an aqueous dispersion of bitumen 'to penetrate said porous layer through said coarse material without coagulating while in contact with the latter.

2. In the .process of claim 1,using a mixture comprising an aqueous dispersion of bitumen and a nnely divided colloidal substance. e

3. In the process of claim 1, using a mixture a colloidal suspension of clay.

' 4. `In the process` of making a porous soil layer impervious .to fluids, the` steps of impregnating said layer with a coagulation-promoting agent. placing a mass'of relatively coarsely divided material in contact with said layer, and causing an aqueous dispersion of bitumen to penetrate said layer through said coarse material without col comprising an aqueous dispersion of bitumen and f aguiating while in ontact with the latter.

6. In the process of making a porous soil layer containing electrolytes impervious to iluids, the steps of impregnating said layer with a coagulation-hindering agent, placing a mass of relatively coarsely divided material in contact with said layer, and causing an aqueous dispersion of bitumen to penetrate said layer through said coarse material without coagulating while in contact with the latter.

7. In the process of making a porous layer impervious to uids, the steps of placing a mass of relatively coarselyv divided material in contact with a porous soil and impregnating said porous layer through said rocky mass rst with an ,aqueous dispersion of bitumen and then with a coagulation-promoting agent.

8. In the process of making a porous subsoil layer impervious to uids, the steps of forming a 0 borehole in said layer, filling it with a relatively coarsely divided material, and causing an aqueous dispersion of bitumen to penetrate said layer through said coarse material without coagulating while in contact with the latter.

9. In the process of claim 8, using a mixture comprising an aqueous dispersion of bitumen and a finely divided colloidal substance.

10. In the process of claim 8, using a mixture comprising an aqueous dispersion of bitumenand a colloidal suspension of clay.

11. In the process of making a porous subsoil layer impervious to fluids, the steps of forming a borehole in said layer, providing at least a portion of the borehole with a casing, lling the borehole with a relatively coarsely divided material through said casing, and causing an aqueous dispersion of bitumen to penetrate the porous layer through said coarse material without ccagulating while in contact with the latter.

12. In the process of claim 11, providing a casing`v for that portion of the borehole which extends from the upper level of the porous subsoil layer to the surface.

13. In the process of making a porous subsoil layer impervious to iiuids, the steps of forming a borehole insaid layer, placing a casing in the borehole, lling the casing with a relatively coarsely` divided material, partially raising the casing While ejecting the coarse material into the borehole, and causing an aqueous dispersion of bitumen to penetrate the porous layer through said coarse material Without coagulating while in contact with the latter. y

14. In the process of claim 13, raising the lower end of the casing to approximately the elevation of the upper level of the porous layer.

15. In the process of making a porous subsoil layer impervious to fluids, the steps of forcing a pipe into the porous layer, removing the earth from said pipe, filling it with a relatively coarsely divided material, partially raising thepipe while ejecting the rocky material in the hole formed, and causing an aqueous dispersionof bitumen to penetrate said porous layer through said coarse material without' coagulating while in contact with the latter.

16. In the process of claim 15, raising the lower end of the pipe to approximately the elevation of the upper level of the porous layer.

JAN VAN HULST.

Cil 

